A growing number of fine-dining establishments in Denver are forgoing those tabletop staples to make their own condiments, a trend mirrored in restaurants nationwide as chefs flex their creativity and pursue we-do-it-all bragging rights.

On any given night, diners at Vesta Dipping Grill in downtown Denver can dive into an array of two dozen dipping sauces, representing an array of cultures and cuisines, and ferried to the table in small stainless steel saucers.

“We probably make five to 15 sauces on any given day, and have about 40 in our repertoire,” says executive chef Brandon Foster. “Probably the most common response from customers is how the sauces can take one dish and turn it into several others.”

When Vesta opened in 1997, the notion of a restaurant making its own condiments was something of a novelty, a hook to entice and please curious patrons.

Today Vesta is just one of a number of area restaurants whose kitchens offer house-made condiments, from more exotic fare such as tamarind sauces to twists on old familiars such as ketchup.

This is an extension of the DIY movement that has seen a growing number of chefs taking on tasks once farmed out to suppliers. If you make your own sausages and cured meats, why not whip up the mustards that go with them?

Euclid Hall in LoDo does just that, offering several house-made mustards with its charcuterie plates, plus its own hot sauce. There is a yellow variety, a whole-grain bordeaux, horseradish type, a spicy brown and The Dark Truth, a blend of three types of mustard seeds and Boulevard Brewing’s Dark Truth Stout. The restaurant has 30 gallons of mustard seed in its pantry at any given time.

Jorel Pierce, Euclid Hall’s executive chef, says it’s a function of quality control and trying to make sure the condiments make for a perfect marriage with the food.

“We want our personal stamp on it,” Pierce says. “Our meat program is our driving force here. It seems irresponsible to buy outside with our sausage program. It’s not more cost-effective and from a labor standpoint it’s a nightmare, but we’ll never back off from doing it.”

No one is slagging mass-market condiments. There is a reason Heinz tomato ketchup enjoys a monopoly in America’s restaurants and home pantries: Introduced in 1876, it is the gold standard of ketchups, lauded even by chefs who make their own.

Creating a house-made condiment is a cross between building a better mousetrap and a stab at setting one’s restaurant apart from the competition.

There chef Brandon Biederman concocts his own take on the red chile oil sauce found in most Chinese restaurants. His is supplemented by a generous helping of toasted sesame seeds, and enjoys a standing place on Ace’s counters, alongside a fermented black bean paste.

“We decided to make our own table sauce early on in the planning of Ace,” Biederman says. “Even though there are some really great ones on the shelf, we feel that making our own is just another little touch that makes us unique.”

It’s also terrific, generating buzz among customers and more than a few “Where can I buy this?” queries. (See the recipe, below.)

A sweet sauce harkens to Kansas City (and with an additional touch of cloves) while a spicier version is bolstered with pepper. A third “vinegar dressing” is somewhat akin to a South Carolina barbecue sauce, a pepper-vinegar concoction spiked with mustard. They are niftily housed in what resemble old-fashioned miracle-tonic bottles.

“The sauces are on the table, and none of our smoked meat is sauced before leaving the kitchen,” says chef Taylor Drew. “We leave that up to our guests, and encourage them to try all three. Some people like to mix and match to get their perfect sauce.

“We do sell our sauce if a guest asks, but we don’t advertise that on the menu, and we’ll only sell it when we have enough available.”

At Panzano in downtown Denver’s Hotel Monaco, chef Elise Wiggins has drawn raves for the bread dipper that arrives on every table soon after diners pull up their chairs.

The savory concoction — a tapenade with an extra dollop of oil — is designed to prime the palate’s pump. This it does with a mix of sun-dried tomatoes, capers, anchovies, garlic cloves and kalamata olives, bound together with a mix of olive and rice oils. (See recipe, below.)

“I think restaurant condiments are hugely important,” Wiggins says. “There’s a lot of food items that don’t need any thing additionally added to them but sometimes a great condiment can pair up so nicely that it takes the dish or food item to a whole new level.”

Even basic condiments, easily available in stores and through mega-purveyors such as Sysco, are getting the homemade treatment,

New Saigon, the acclaimed Vietnamese restaurant on South Federal Boulevard, makes its own peanut sauce. (With a nice touch of hoisin.)

At Bang! restaurant in the Highland neighborhood, the kitchen has made a name for itself with a house-made ketchup that lives up to the room’s name. They’ll give you the recipe if you ask, but the ketchup is basically a mix of Roma tomatoes, raisins, onions, garlic, champagne vinegar and ground cloves spiked with guajillo chiles, the dried version of mirasols. Yes, there are other ingredients, but those are the main flavor drivers.

House-made condiments are a source of pride to chefs, but many are labor-intensive, requiring stove time to reduce the sauces to the proper consistency and intensity of flavor.

Vesta’s Foster figures about four-five hours of prep time are needed daily for his restaurant’s sauces. Salsas are made daily or every other day, in 1-gallon batches. Each time the menu changes, which is quarterly, one to three new condiments are devised.

Despite his involvement in mother-henning a 40-sauce rotation, Foster does own up to a favorite: It’s the Pineapple Pedy Marmalade, named after owner Josh Wolkon’s grandmom, and features smoked pineapple infused with bacon flavor.

“That’s kind of my sauce victory,” Foster says.

William Porter: 303-954-1877, wporter@denverpost.com or twitter.com/williamporterdp

In a dry sauté pan over medium heat, toast the TVP 10-15 minutes. Keep a close eye on it, stirring frequently to prevent burning. Add sesame seeds and toast another five minutes.

Place the TVP and sesame seeds in a large bowl, and add the salt and sugar.

In the same saute pan, crumble the chiles and toast about 5 minutes. Add to bowl. Whisk in the sesame oil to combine. The sugar will not completely dissolve, so just stir before serving, as they do in the restaurant.

Russell’s Smokehouse Sweet Sauce

This is a sweet Kansas City-style sauce developed by chefs Frank Bonanno and Taylor Drew. Makes about 4 cups.

Ingredients

2½ cups ketchup

6 tablespoons brown sugar

1¼ cups cider vinegar

¼ cup molasses

2 tablespoons honey

1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

Salt, to taste

1 teaspoon black pepper

2 teaspoons dry mustard

½ teaspoon allspice

½ teaspoon cloves

2 teaspoons cayenne

½ teaspoon celery seed

1 teaspoon smoked paprika

Directions

Combine wet and dry ingredients separately. Add wet into dry. Make at least 1 day in advance.

Day 1: In a medium bowl, combine all ingredients and whisk well. Cover and store in refrigerator two days.

Day 3: In a food processor, blender or with a blending stick, grind until combined but some of the seeds are still coarse. Cover and return to fridge.

Day 5: Pack into jars and store in refrigerator.

Vesta’s Sweet Chile Ginger Sauce

Makes about 3 cups.

Ingredients

1 cup soy sauce

2 tablespoons peeled, sliced ginger

½ cup rice wine vinegar

1 bottle sweet Thai chile (sold in Asian markets)

1½ cups sesame oil

Directions

Combine all ingredients except sesame oil in a blender.

With blender running, slowly add sesame oil into sauce until the sauce is emulsified. Store in a jar, refrigerated, for up to 30 days.

Panzano Tapenade

Make this spread a day ahead for best flavor. From Panzano executive chef Elise Wiggins. Makes about 3 cups.

Directions

1 cup sun-dried tomatoes

¼ cup capers

1 ounce anchovy (about 3 fillets)

3 garlic cloves

¾ cup olive oil

2 cups rice bran oil, grapeseed or other neutral oil

1 cup pitted kalamata olives

Directions

In a meat grinder or food processor, grind together the tomatoes, capers, anchovy, garlic, and olives. If you do not have a food processor, use a knife to finely chop the ingredients. Combine with oils in a large bowl. Store, covered, in refrigerator.

Restaurant critic William Porter is a feature writer at The Denver Post, where he covers food, culture and people. He joined the news outlet in 1997. Before that, he spent 14 years covering politics and popular culture at The Phoenix Gazette and Arizona Republic. He is a native of North Carolina.

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